I’m not quite sure if the OP had specific questions, but the attached is a fairly complete and original example of a ‘40s Continental. The brooks saddle and handlebar tape are the primary deviations from the original form.
The history of Schwinn lightweights of this period is a bit sketchy but it seems that the Continental was intended to replace the Superior as the bike one step below the Paramount. The Continental appears prominently in the few early postwar catalogs that I’ve seen while the Superior is not shown at all, though as Scooper illustrated, the Superior was on the pricelist. One possible explanation would be that an inventory of prewar Superiors remained and took a few years following the war to sell off.
As “stronglight” has suggested, these bikes were typically available as a three speed with a top tube shifter and had side pull brakes. The fenders were stainless steel as were the rims. I’ve never weighed the one pictured but I would guess it to be in the 37 lb range. It is considerably lighter than the later electro-forged three speeds such as the Racer.
I’m unaware of a source for decals for these but if anyone else comes across one, please let me know.
I find the price reasonable but be aware that, while these bikes are not overly valuable, they are uncommon. This means that if you expect put together a functioning bike made up of correct vintage parts, you may have to wait a while. On the other had, if you’re willing to make some compromises and utilize parts from more recent three speeds, you can put together a nice bike pretty quickly.
One comment on the bike that “big chainring” pointed out. This is the Clubman version which might legitimately be categorized as rare. I’ve only ever even seen photos of two, both of which sold on eBay in the past couple of months. The other one ended at $911. These are both on the high side of the early Continental price scale.
Finally, I have two of these bikes that I ride more than anything else I own. If you get a kick out of vintage three speeds, this is a good place to start.
Regards,
Alan